Diary Summary (in English)

October 2011

Tue 11/10.2011

The train journey was a bit mad, delays in the channel tunnel so St Pancras was very congested, there was a threatened French rail strike so there was a constant worry about whether we would actually get there, on the Sud Express a crowd of what looked like very drunk Portuguese agricultural workers joined the train and had a party until 8.00am. Apart from that everything actually went to schedule. It was good to see the change in environment and people travelling through Europe. The intensity of the sun and the luxuriance of the vegetation in Portugal is very much like being in Brasil, the temperature today was 32 degrees and not a cloud in the sky, the evening cooler. We hired a car in Coimbra, and after a very long drive along well maintained roads with confusing signposts, arrived high in the mountains. The village is at the end of a valley, with cobbled streets, but nearly all the houses are holiday homes, so they are shut and empty. The quinta (farm) is right at the top of the valley, perched above the village. The views walking up are spectacular down the valley to distant mountains, and the view up to the Picota mountain is also speactacular. The stone house is in very good shape. The land is VERY overgrown, but there are hopefully people to help clear it.

Wed 12/10/2011

We went by an alternative route from Benfeita to the quinta today, and stopped off at the Fraga da Penha waterfall. It is not really very far, I would say 20 minutes or so by bike, however the road is not good. It is a fabulous spot to come with a picnic and spend some time. We decided to drive up to the quinta with the tools we had bought that day to make a start searching for water. We (somehow) managed to cut through about 20 meters or so of dense brambles over six feet high, and found a kind of cave where water has been channelled underground, like a kind of buried waterfall (unfortunately no water yet though). There is some debris that has fallen in, so we will try and clear it out whilst it is still dry. We have bought a cactus and plan to start a cactus garden. Senhor Sergio called round, and it was good to meet him. He will show us the boundaries of the quinta. He can also help find people who can clear the land. There is a mina (water mine) higher up on the property where he is sure we will find water. The land also goes much higher up the valley than we understood, it is rectangular shaped, following the course of the water. There is a tank on the terrace above where we found the water cave that is dry at the moment. Whatever happens there is water for anyone to help themselves to in the spring in the village.

Fri 14/10/2011

I walked over the terraces to the quinta this morning, and then on up a dirt road to the top of the Picota mountain. The views were fabulous, to the peak of the Serra da Estrella. I could also clearly see the outline of the quinta and the surrounding land. On return I called back at the quinta and measured the building in preparation for drawing up some plans. I returned by another route and managed to find a dry stream bed that led into the base of our quinta land. There is about one third of a kilometer of stone steps which lead down past mountain streams and pools to the old part of the village where xisto buildings have been left untouched. The stone paths and irrigation channels are sophisticated and intricate. We have picked up the legal documentation to the property from Gois, and we have bought a rake to help with the work. We also now have a mobile phone for use in Portugal and a mobile internet connection. I drew up some plans this afternoon, in preparation for a builder who is coming tomorrow afternoon. We are also meeting with Senhor Sergio to discuss the boundaries to the property and clearing the land of all the undergrowth. Everything seems to be happening at quite a speed.

Sat 15/10/2011

We went to the quinta with Sergio today to discuss clearing the land. He gave us a much clearer idea of the boundaries of the lower half of the property. However, we are not really sure where the top boundaries are yet. We also met with the builder. It was not really what we wanted and far too expensive. We have reached the conclusion that we must press ahead somehow and get the work done ourselves. We need to find a carpenter/joiner who can re-lay the floorboards and fit some windows and a door on the top floor, and hopefully help with insulating the ceiling. We then need to point the walls and do a skim coat of lime mortar on two of the other walls, and lay a xisto floor for the log burner to go on. As for the rest of the building, we will have to do it as time goes by, and see how it develops.

Sun 16/10/2011

On Sunday we had more of a day of rest. We walked to the quinta via the stone paths at the edge of the village and tried out the mobile internet connection, which is not good at the quinta, but OK-ish along the road. The mobile phone connection is OK, and FM radio is a bit more difficult than in the village. However, I think that once one of the terraces is clear, we will get better reception at the end, as the quinta is tucked behind a hill and the end of the terraces are not.The rake to help clear the yard and the cave room broke, and I have not got the tools to fix it. The tools I have got are not working to clear the yard, as there are really large roots (presumably from the bracken) which go down into the rock. Senhor Sergio is going to start clearing around the house on Tuesday.Having thought overnight about the overall plan for the stone building, we have decided to do things in stages. If there is also time, we want a partition and door made internally. We have picked some beautiful fresh figs, pears and grapes from the quinta. We found some wild mint, turnips, and parsnips on the way, and some leaves of portugues cabbage to make soup. Tomorrow we plan first of all to go and discuss the windows and door (and hopefully the floor and ceiling) with a local joiner/carpenter whose details we have been given.

Mon 17.10.2011

We turned right at what looked like Fernando's garage in Casal de Sao Joao this morning in search of the carpenter we had directions for. Just as we turned the corner we saw what looked a promising building and in the entrance yard was a man with a moped, who introduced himself as Victor. He was just leaving, so it was lucky to have caught him at the right time. Somehow he had already heard that we wanted some work done. He suggested we meet this afternoon at 3.00pm in the village. We drove on and parked the car in Arganil. Close by we found a Chinese shop, which I guess sells everything for house and home made in China. We found a few things for the kitchen, and some buckets and bowls and tools that will hopefully be useful on a day to day basis. Opposite we wandered into what looked like an antique shop, and saw an old man at a table having a whisky, and discovered that we were actually in someone's front room! He was however not at all upset, and was happy for us to look around. Near the car park entrance we found another shop, which I think was an agricultural co-operative, selling many more useful things. We managed to find the right tools to dig the ground, and a pitch fork, a watering can, a large water container, big containers for carrying soil and waste in the garden, and some chicken wire, with which we hope to make two compost heaps. Today the weather was not so hot as it has been, about 26 degrees, but very sunny with little cloud. We noticed many wicked motorbikes and mopeds in Arganil and on the road in various states of repair, some with trailers. Senhor Victor was just about to set off with a long piece of wood strapped to his when we met him. They seem quite a popular way of getting about for the Portuguese, very economical. After unloading the car, we heard what we thought might be Senhor Victor's moped echoing from the valley bottom, and we both made our way up to the quinta. After a great deal of measuring and discussion we seem to have hit on a plan for a front door and two windows, an insulated ceiling, a partition and door, and a contact to fix the roof and some stonework. The evening was a bit chilly, and we understand rain is forecast for the end of the week.

Tue 18/10/2011

Shopping again today. We went to Coja, and bought cooking and lighting equipment,and a very baroque log burner. I think we have got just about everything on the list to live fairly comfortably in the quinta for a while when the top floor is complete. From the village I can hear Senhor Sergio with his machines cutting some of the undergrowth. We met Senhor Victor in a hardware shop in Coja this morning, and he will hopefully give us a price for the materials on Saturday, and put us in touch with someone who can repair the roof and stonework and make the preparations for the doors and windows to be put in, before Senhor Victor gets to work. Soon I need to be thinking about organising my ticket home.

Wed 19/10/2011

I cleared nearly all of the front of the building of the rubble and fern roots with the new tools today. I fitted the lock to the door, however the screwdriver from the chinese shop broke, and I think I need a hand drill and drill bits to do the job properly. We went up to the second road which crosses the quinta higher up, and had a good look at the rest of the land that goes up the valley. There is quite a sheltered valley there, which is not too overgrown. I would like to try and make a pathway up to see some more of the biggest part of the land. We stopped off on the way back and picked some chestnuts, which are very spiky on the outside. We met Mario the builder to discuss the roof and preparations around the windows and door before the work is done by Senhor Victor.

Thur 20/10/2011

Market day in Arganil this morning. There was a fantastic view of the mist that settled in the valley below when we set off. The market was very good, with everything all in one place that we would need. We managed to find a hand drill, and set of drill bits, to finish the job of fitting the bolts to the downstairs door. We bought loads of different trees, which are not expensive. There are hazelnut, tangerine, palm, winter and summer oranges, almond, lemon, peach, black plum, lime, diosporo (sharon fruit I think), clementine and fejoa (a kind of guava), and a black and green olive. Tomorrow we are travelling to Coimbra to get my tickets home, and to Porto for an overnight stay. Mario has just called, and he will be able to start on the 14/11/2011 and finish by the 22/11/2011. He is going to re-lay the roof tiles and fit insulation at the same time.

Friday 21/10/2011

The drive to Coimbra today was chaotic and stressful, there don't seem to be any road signs that make sense. I bought calomine cream for my legs as the brambles have scratched them, and I think there are some insect bites. We walked to Coimbra A railway station and bought my tickets to Paris. We drove to Porto, and saw quite a lot of the area as we didn't go by motorway. Porto seems much easier to get about. We parked the car in the airport, and took the metro to the city centre. We were both surprised how much we enjoyed Porto. There are many fine buildings, we want to return. The hotel was a two star 1970's gem, dining out was good.

Saturday 22/10/2011

After walking around Porto in the morning we found an internet shop opposite Sao Bento station, and I bought Eurostart tickets from Paris to London. We had a coffee, and caught the metro to the airport to pick up my family. We drove back by the motorway and found a much easier road by-passing Coimbra to Arganil. Everyone was astonished by the village. We walked to the quinta via the village path, and met Donna Hilda in the fields picking cabbages. Senhor Sergio was working clearing the land when we arrived.

Sunday 23/10/2011

Today we have all worked on the quinta clearing out the water culverts and tanks. It has been a fabulous day, and I think everyone has enjoyed the environment and the quinta. Somehow we have managed to get this important piece of work done whilst everything is dry, as it is now raining for the first time in ages.

Monday 24/10/2011

The weather turned in the afternoon, so no more work on the quinta! The rain was very hard during the night and sleep was difficult.

Tuesday 25/10/2011

The rain eased off a little today. We went to Gois in the morning, and walked along the river. We picked some tangerines and had lunch in a restaurant. On the way back we stopped off in Arganil to get some supplies, and I bought a pair of pliers, so hopefully we can get the compost bins complete. Both locks on the quinta downstairs rooms have been put on, so we now have proper front door keys!

Wednesday 26/10/2011

The rain did not ease off today, it rained with vengence and the wind felt like it was taking the roof off. We went to the quinta, and took photos and measurements to get an idea of the layout of the terraces and to start planning the next steps. I took another look at Google Earth, and it is easier to interpret the image having seen the layout on the ground, so I have drawn up a rough plan of the terraces. The major next step, upon which everything else will be built is the water. So far despite the rain, there has been no life in the barroco (stream) and nothing from the top spring. There is a lot of debris in the top spring, up to about waist height, so I think the solution there is to dig out a channnel so the water can flow more freely. The land has not been cleared we have found out for 14 years, so the irrigation systems need some attention. The weather has been unpredictable this year, it has not rained since June, so we need to plan for 6 months water storage. There is water, and easily collectable, the issue is just how to store enough volume of water. I have done some 'back of an envelope' calculations for irrigation for planting and basic water needs of the house, and we will need to store a lot of water! I plan to have a look at some plastic barrels I saw in the agricultural shop in Arganil, they might help form part of an initial solution. We have paid Senhor Sergio for the guys who helped clear the land last weekend. We have yet to find out whether they will be able to finish the bottom terraces this Saturday. We have arranged to go with Sergio around the land to talk about irrigation and ask his advice about tree planting at some point. The weather looks good for the next few days, not sure about next week though...

Thu 27/10/2011

All the family went to the open market today in Arganil. I bought some shoes, and we got some wellies. I think everyone had fun in the market. We bought some tools we needed and things for the house.

Fri 28/10/2011

Today was relatively good weather, we went to the quinta early, and I watched the sunrise. We spent all day digging out the mina, which had lots of debris that had fallen in. We started in the mina itself, and then worked our way down a tunnel. It was exhausting work! We held a tree planting ceremony in the afternoon, the first trees planted on the quinta, two olives trees planted by the family.

Sat 29/10/2011

Back to Porto to take the family to the airport. The airport itself is very new, and a calm place to be. We got there in plenty of time. We drove there by motorway, not realising that we would need to pay a toll, however it was not expensive. We decided not to stop over in Porto, so drove back via a slower route going through a lot more towns and villages. We found a garden centre just before we got to Coimbra, and bought some herbs and flowering shrubs for the garden terrace, also a bourgenvilla.

Sun 30/10/2011

Back to the quinta today, I dug a plot for cabbages on the tank terrace. I made a much better plan of the land and sketched out some ideas for trees. We have made some names for the terraces, as it is getting very confusing knowing which ones we are talking about.

Mon 31/10/2011

I think the bubble burst today, and gloom settled, as it dawned on me that the trip is nearly over for me. We had a puncture from broken glass next to the recycling bin in Benfeita, so we have to get a replacement tyre.

Tue 1/11/2011

There was fabulous mist today early in the morning, which had settled in the valley. The view was definitely from the Gods, like being in an aeroplane. The mist came back up the valley, but only got as far as the road below, hence it was fairly sunny all day. I went to the quinta, and organised the plants we had bought to protect them from the wind. I made a compost bin with a wire netting frame, but hit on the idea that we should leave it empty for now, to put the trees in before planting. I dug a plot below the fig tree for more cabbages, but it was hard work. There were some really tough orange roots like electricity cables that seemed to go on for ever. Fabio went to meet Senhor Victor in Coja, and got a very good price for the work. The new tyre however cost 150 euros! We have discovered more terraces. There are more stone walls above the top terrace, so I expect there is more cultivable land there as well.

Wed 2/11/2011

It rained today so we tidied up, and spent the afternoon watching DVD's in English with Portugues subtitles, which was interesting We went to the quinta, because we thought after all the rain, there might be water in the barrocco, but alas not yet. We made some alterations to the plans of the terraces.

Thu 03/11/2011

Arganil open market again. We ordered about 85 olive trees, and many more fruit and nut trees. Early, middle and late cherries, plums, peaches, a walnut tree, a hazelnut, apples and pears, and an avocado. There are also some soft fruit bushes We have planned the more sunny southerly facing drier terraces for an olive and citrus grove, and the more northerly damper shaded terraces for fruit and nut trees which we hope will become a bit of a forest garden. There are some sunny areas by rocks more sheltered from the wind for the lemons. Tomorrow I travel to England, with much thinking to do and many more ideas to explore before I plan to return in the spring of 2012.

March and April 2012

Sunday 25th March

We travelled to Portugal this spring by Eurolines coach, the journey was about 8 hours longer than by train. Lots of European landscapes, and snoozing. We noticed how few trees there are travelling in France and Northern Spain, vast flat arable landscapes with just a dim glimmer of lights and people on the horizon. Portugal starts where the mountains start, and from then on there is certainly no shortage of trees. We met Senhor Francisco and his mother on the road on the way to Cassaca. On arrival we first checked out the vegetables and trees we planted last October. The cabbages are fantastic, lettuces and garlic are growing well, there are some carrots, the trees have survived the winter, some of the fruit trees are in flower and the olives look very happy. We ate very well when we arrived yesterday evening, and lit the log burner and candles which made the house very warm and cosy. It would be hard to find an environment more tranquil and with less people around. The weather is perfectly comfortable. It was 27 degrees when we arrived, but cool in the evening.

Monday 26th March

We have reached the conclusion that our only option for ensuring an adequate supply of water is rainwater collection and cisterns. It has been very dry in Portugal, and there is no sign of water in the barroco. There is spring water to collect from the village to drink and cook. The top floor has been renovated beautifully. However there is quite a bit to do to make life more comfortable. We sent a lot of stuff from the UK in boxes by ship, to be delivered to the Post Office in Benfeita which arrived today. We have spent the morning clearing an area to put up a tent we have brought from England, and we can use the space to store things whilst we organise the house. We plan to use some of the original floorboards to make shelving, and we are going to try and build a table as well. Once we have organised the house and contents, we have the solar electrics to install. We need to get some batteries. In the evening we lit a small bonfire on the garden terrace and sat in some deckchairs to watch the sun set and the stars come out. We burnt some of the prunings from the apple tree. There are so many piles of twigs and branches around the quinta, we need to do something with them as they are a fire risk. The ash can go on the vegetables. We had some wine and portuguese spirit (like cachaca from Brasil). As the sky darkened, more and more stars became visible. The street lighting from the village faintly illuminates the picotta mountain. We were careful with sparks whilst the fire was lit, and made sure the fire was completely extinguished before going to bed.

Tuesday 27th March

During the night the wind became very strong. Strong gusts of wind happen often at this time of year. We weren't expecting them. Despite our best efforts (guy ropes secured to adjacent trees and rocks) I got up in the middle of the night to find the tent hovering about a foot in the air, and looking like it was soon going to fly off high across the valley. We managed to get some rocks at least inside and on the edges of the tent. We went to bed and hoped for the best. Later overnight the tent blew to the next terrace and lodged behind a pile of brambles cut last autumn. The plan to store and organise the parcels from England in the tent has had to be abandoned. Nowhere to cook, nowhere to go to the toilet, nowhere to wash, no idea what the time is (the clocks had gone forward in the UK as we travelled, and the hour difference in France has completely thrown me). Whilst Fabio and Luke completely re-organised the bottom two storage rooms, putting all the old wood and floorboards in the cave room, and organising the tools and clearing space in other lower room, I started on the top floor. I made a very basic table for the front room out of floorboards and the only nails we had. I made another sturdy wooden stand, and we brought down a flat xisto slab Fabio found around the old water tank to make a base for the gas rings. We organised the pots and pans lighting, an area to wash up. I organised all the bags from England and boxes and cases left over from last autumn. The bedroom was transformed, with things in easily locatable places hung from nails from the rafters, and a box for the bedding and rede (hammock). We found a large metal bowl which is ideal for washing. After an exhausting day, we cooked chinese and sat for the first time comfortably in the evening and played monopoly and lit the log burner to take off the chill. .

Wed 28th March

Overnight the wind was much much stronger than the previous night. Thankfully the new roof has held out really well, and the insulation means that the wind is for the most part kept out of the house. I spent a bit of time during the night dreaming up plans for the next steps, the toilet and the solar panels. Today has been a bit more of a chilled and relaxed kind of day. We opened the parcels from England, and put the food items in safe keeping upstairs, and took out the tools and things we need for now. The solar panels have arrived in one piece. At the moment we are getting by charging the laptop in the car whenever we go somewhere. The main problem at the moment is the toilet. We have all got fed up with going alfresco, so we need to do something. Fabio and Luke have been to Arganil today and bought a bucket to make a composting toilet, I have spent the majority of the day organising the tools, scraping the cement off the old floor boards we are using and preparing them with a wire brush. Hopefully by the end of tomorrow, we will have a fully functioning compost loo. The compost heap is ready, we have designated an area in one of the downstairs store rooms for compost toilet action. We have a new LED lamp for the toilet. I went for a walk round the quinta this afternoon, waiting for everyone else to come back. I have hardly been anywhere in the quinta, as we have been so busy getting the house up and running. I went up to the English corner, which has the best views down to the wide valley bottom below and across to mountains in the distance. The dry stone wall and steps have been made with such skill, I wonder how many people know how to carry this to the future. There is a little patch of pine and chestnut woodland, and we have planted more nut trees here. Moving along the terrace is what we hope will become a forest garden with temperate trees, and there is a peach that I am sure is very happy there. Across from there we have olives. We didn't clear away any of the old dry brambles cut down by Sergio last autumn, and this has been a blessing as there are fewer weeds and it acts as a mulch without any effort on our part. The soil is moist underneath. We met Donna Hilda in her cabbage patch whilst collecting water from the cachoeira (waterfall). So my first attempts to say hello in Portuguese properly. They are lovely, very welcoming people and much more so when you try and speak a little Portuguese.

Thursday 29th March

Today I awoke with determination to solve the toilet problem, and whilst Fabio and Luke were in Arganil for the weekly market, I stayed at the quinta and spent nearly all the day constructing the composting toilet out of the old floorboards from the quinta building. The sky was absolutely clear, and I worked all day in the sun on the terrace at the front of the house overlooking the mountain. I spent a good deal of time thinking about the final plans for the ground floor of the quinta building, as we need to formulate a plan before the end of the trip for work to start in October. The floorboards were much harder wood and much more uneven than I expected, and the toilet looks more like a rabbit hutch. Nevertheless it works for now, and is infinitely better than alfresco. On return from the market Fabio and Luke brought some very useful water containers and a side board which he varnished. Before returning to the house for the evening, we summoned up enthusiasm to sort out the tent behind the pile of brambles. At first we were optimistic, but after finding that one of the poles had split, and there was a big hole torn in the side, we have reconciled ourselves to the fact that the tent is no more. We will try and find another use for it.

Friday 30th March

The shutters made by Senhor Victor really do keep out all the light, and the only way to tell if it is dawn is to listen to the birds. I had a walk around the quinta before sunrise, which is around 9.00am in the valley at this time of year from behind Picotta. The quinta is quite well positioned within the valley for sun, and gets light for the majority of the day. We set out for Coimbra quite early. We parked where we normally do as the city is very confusing to drive around, and walked to the centre to get some keys cut and find a restaurant for lunch. We agreed that we were all very tired. We got directions to a place that sells agricultural machinery, and bought a strimmer. We have realised that we need to stop the ferns and brambles completely overwhelming the immature olive trees we have planted. We also got directions to a place that sells marine batteries that we need for the solar electricity system. They were not cheap, but essential, so we bought one for now. I put up some of the LED lights I had sourced in England (after quite a deal of searching) and worked until late in the night fixing and wiring. There are much warmer coloured spot lights which work well with more diffuse and bright LEDs which on their own give a harsh quite blue light. The technology in LED lighting is developing rapidly. The room is lit comfortably with about 8W. The solar panels are next on the list of things to organise. Given the tent experience, we are going to think hard about where and how to place them. Wind energy might be part of the mix in the future.

Saturday 31st March

I woke early this morning and followed the forest roads up to the first track which crosses the quinta. It hasn't been possible to see the terraces from this point so far, but as the vegetation has now died down over the winter the view is much better. The land we have cleared so far is closer to this first track than I had imagined. There is a large chestnut tree planted by Donna Hilda's husband near the top of the mina. I discovered this morning that this tree is very close to the first track. The quinta then follows a dry stream bed up the mountain. There is a fairly large plantation of pines and some mature chestnut trees following the line of water upwards. I decided to follow the forest roads further up the mountain to the second track which we are sure forms the horizontal boundary at the top of the quinta. This track is quite overgrown, but the line of water can be easily located. Returning to the quinta down the forest roads I heard a peal of bells from the valley below, the hour sounded by three bells in consonance echoing all around the valleys below in the morning sun, a magical moment.

Sunday 1st April

The pile of dirty clothes has been growing all week, so we decided this morning was a good day to tackle them. The sky was clear with some high cloud and a light wind. After soaking in buckets, the majority were clean with minimal scrubbing. We collected some water from the cachoeira to rinse them, and used the water to irrigate the fig tree at the quinta entrance. We rigged up washing lines between established fruit trees and the majority of the washing was dry within an hour. Meanwhile Luke decided to plant his peach tree at the edge of the track at the front of the quinta. In the afternoon we started walking up the forest roads again, to re-trace the steps from the day before. We have noticed how the forest roads, built for access in case of fire, have diverted some of the surface flow of storm water away from our quinta, and into the neighbouring valley, as the roads criss-cross up the mountain side. We didn't get as far as the first track when we heard thunder and felt the first drops of rain since our arrival at the quinta. We headed back as umbrellas near the top of a mountain in a thunderstorm didn't seem a good idea. As we got back to the quinta we heard a very weird and loud thunderclap overhead, fractured and 'cubic' and a very long duration. It must have been caused by reverberations across from Picotta around the valley sides. The storm was wild and dramatic, the rain was a blessing to the trees. Once it subsided we drove up to the first track to view the terraces, then on up to the second. I walked with Luke for the first time down the dry stream bed from the second to the first track. This part of the quinta is very isolated and unvisited, very tranquil with luxuriant moss and lichen. We then followed the roads on upwards to the top near the peak of Picotta. The mountain is about as high as Snowdon and the quinta is about 300 metres below the summit. There was still thunder about so we decided not to walk up to the peak, and we drove a short distance to a viewpoint overlooking the valley, with spectacular views of the quinta down many kilometres to the plain of the Mondego river and to mountains on the far horizon. There are about 5 wind turbines behind Picotta, obscured from view. As we drove on closer to them, we realised just how huge they really are. We spotted a turning home, through a neighbouring village and through the Mata da Margaraca, an important and rare remnant of the native Iberian forest. A fantastic place to live close to. The temperature dropped in the evening, and the log burner did a good job in warming the inside of the quinta building. There is a lot of gorse and broom lying on the ground in the quinta cut last autumn which burns very well.

Monday 2nd April

We worked this morning to rig up a piece of old guttering along the side of the quinta building to try out some rainwater collection. After trying out a deal of different barrel positions and ways to secure the old guttering, we managed to secure a stable system using string, flat packing wire, stones and a 5 litre water bottle cut to act as a funnel. Success came in less than an hour with 65 litres collected from just ine half of the roof. Rain water will provide water in excess of our needs for showering and washing dishes and clothes. We have decided to collect spring water from the village to drink, which people come from the surrounding area to collect as it is regarded as very pure and good for health.

Tuesday 3rd April

We decided to have a break from work at the quinta and set off for Coimbra to book the return journey home. As the weather was not great we headed for Conimbriga a few kilometers south of the city once the journey back had been arranged. This is the remains of a roman city, partially excavated, with elaborate houses of the wealthy and mosaics and fragments of wall paintings still remaining. We then continued on to Figuera da Foz, a popular beach resort with Portuguese people fairly close to Coimbra. Crossing coastal plains to the mouth of the Rio Mondego we saw rice being cultivated and the castle of Montemor-o-velho. The beach at Figuera da Foz is very wide, and it was a good opportunity to bathe my legs, as I have made the mistake again of wearing shorts at the quinta and my legs are bitten by mosquitoes and badly scratched by the remaining brambles. We have found a hotel that seems luxurious after a week camping out in the quinta building, we ended the evening in a restaurant.

Wednesday 4th April

This morning was bright, but cold and windy. We walked to the sea and got our legs sandblasted. The old town centre is quite small but has lots of attractive buildings and a large market with many stalls, particularly fish. As the weather was reasonable we spent our second day away from the quinta travelling to the Serra da Estrella. On the way we stopped off at the castle of Montemor-o-velho, with a very fragrant and luxurious bay tree in the grounds, a baroque church and well tended gardens. We missed the main road to the summit, and took a very small track up the mountain side. We were not expecting how vast these mountains are. We passed huge rounded boulders and empty storm water channels, and joined the main route to the summit. There is a ski resort, and there were a few remnants of snow left and a gift shop smelling of cheese and leather. We descended the other side of the mountain, past a very beautiful grotto to the Virgin Mary with a spring. From Covilhao we took the long winding route back to the quinta. We passed signposts to view prehistoric art close to the quinta, we will definitely visit sometime in the future.

Thursday 5th April

Mario the builder is coming tomorrow afternoon, so we have spent the day measuring and in discussion about work on the ground floor of the quinta building. Living in the building for a while we have a much more realistic idea of how to proceed. It has been difficult to plan a working living space which retains all the essential structure of the existing stone building, with additions made in wood (to follow the Portuguese planning regulations for this environment). We have finally got there. Integral will be rainwater collection in cisterns from the roof. I have added to the 12v lighting. There is more light rain this evening and thunder, which is thrilling in this environment.

Friday 6th April

Good Friday

From early morning I worked on completing the drawings for Mario. Fabio finished removing the plastic covers for the citrus trees, and all but one are looking healthy. Luke planted some seeds for an avocado and a fruit from Coja we don't know the name of. We plan to strim the ferns and brambles around the olives as they will swamp the trees. I have spent the morning clearing the large twigs and branches left over from pruning the established fruit trees last autumn. There are so many that we decided to light a fire on each terrace to clear space for future plans. It was great to be outdoors and it rained intermittently, with rumbles of thunder. Perfect weather for lighting fires in this environment. The smoke rising from the terraces must have been clearly visible from the village. Donna Erundinha came up the winding path to the bottom terrace of the quinta and introduced herself. She said she was very pleased to see work going on and fruit trees being planted on the terraces, and asked us if we wanted to buy the land below adjoining Cassaca, including a stone house and animal shed and terraces to the cachoeira with vines and strawberries and some fruit trees. We gave the vague impression that we might be interested in the autumn but not now. Mario arrived a little later than expected, and thought the plans were practical and achievable.

Saturday 7th April

At 8.30 am I walked around Donna Erdinha's land adjoining Cassaca and took some photos. I wanted to mull over them when we return to England in 3 days. Fabio went to Coja where there was a big Easter market and Festa with food and partying all along the main street. On the way back whilst collecting water from the spring in the village Donna Erundinha and her relatives met Fabio and encouraged him to walk round and have a look at the land. So around we went, with Senhor Arlindo. I have fallen totally in love with Cortelha (the adjoining farm) and feel very comfortable and at home. We decided to leave the village and head out for lunch. We had no map and no idea where we were going. After stunning views across mountain valleys we asked for directions and found ourselves on a quicker road to Arganil. On return to the quinta, we worked out how to use the strimmer, and Fabio finished most of the terraces with trees planted, and I started to re-organise the house for travel back to England.

Sunday 8th April

Easter Sunday

On Saturday night the skies cleared and the temperature dropped, 4 degrees by the morning. This morning the skies were totally clear and deep blue, a perfect day to try out the solar panel as there was no wind, and we have not yet built a frame to secure it. I managed finally to get the set up right, having previously blown a fuse in the inverter and lost the confidence of the crew. We re-charged the computer, a number of smaller batteries for torches etc. and the main battery for the lights. The afternoon was blissful spent resting in and out of the sun after lunch. We cooked some of the food we had grown on the quinta over winter.

Mon 9th April

Monday was our day to pack to travel to England. We collected water from the cachoeira to wash up, and I put up the solar panels to charge the battery more before leaving. After a final walk around Cassaca and Cortelha, discussing plans and checking on the trees, we set out for Coimbra. A perfect day, 27 degrees with wispy clouds. We took the forest road and walked to the top of Picotta, and then the mountain road to Coimbra to a hotel and brasillian dinner.

Tues 10th April

Today we are travelling on the am bus from Coimbra to Paris. The weather is foul, grey wet and windy. We are travelling to England with sadness.

September 2012

17.09.2012

I had forgotten how noisy flying is, but we had a good view of Brighton across to the Isle of Wight and Portsmouth on the way (we saw the Spinnaker tower and the Needles from the air). Flying unfortunately has been the only option on this trip, as we have to negotiate the legal transfer of Cortelha, and I have to return to England to work to make the project possible all within a couple fo weeks. We are in Lisbon. To say the hotel is basic, is generous, but it is very central. I have integrated my bumbag of cash into my trousers, so the only way to steal it would be to undress me. We have walked to Comercio and had a look, and sat out and had a meal in a restaurant. Up early tomorrow to catch the metro to Santa Apollonia and the train to Coimbra.

18.09.2012

The light in the communal bathroom at the 'Duas Nacoes' hotel, wasn't working, and the breakfast started too late, so we weren't able to have a shower and start the day well. We decided to cut our losses, and get the metro to Santa Apollonia sation and head off early for Coimbra. The air has been warm and moist all day, sun and intermittent cloud with spots of rain. The train to Coimbra was comfortable and the journey was short. We took a taxi to pick up the hire car. Somehow we managed to navigate our way out of Coimbra's traffic system without a problem, perhaps because the roadworks taking place on previous visits are now finished and there are intelligible road signs. We drove to Arganil, and before lunch arraged for my fiscal number in preparation for buying Cortelha, the second property at Eira dos Vales. Lunch was the usual Portuguese chips and omelette (the only vegetarian option) and a very nice vegetable soup. We met Sr Teotonio who is organising the purchase in his office in Arganil, in a small square opposite a clock tower with a very loud bell striking every quarter of an hour and a small yapping dog I disturbed whilst looking round the base of the tower. There is a complication with the arrangements to buy the property, all the papers seem to be in order, but there is a question about in whose name the tax should be paid, and whether this is possible at all. We have come again to the same office where the fiscal number was issued, and after much discussion, the impasse has been somehow been overcome and dispensation granted to create just one escritura in my name, and to book for the property and the money to be handed over next week. Celebrations are coming closer!

We waited a very long time for Sr Toitinho in a nearby restaurant having an iced drink. He disappeared into an adjacent office talking to some people. We expected him to come and call us to the office, but after a long enough wait we became impatient and went looking, only to find he had disappeared altogether. We made our way to his office, and sat while he filled in the necessary forms for the purchase. After another very long wait, signing papers and some phone calls, the unexpected happened and after a pessimistic start, the day was set for next Monday to transfer the property, in six days. We headed to the quinta by the mountain road to the top of picotta.

Arrival. Absolute astonishment! The whole place is covered in brambles and ferns! It looks like when we first came here. We both walked round the quinta to inspect what has survived. There are vines growing all over the quinta, nearly all of the temperate trees have survived, about two thirds of the citrus have also managed to survive, the cabbages are still ok but very dry. However the best news is there is water in the mina! We are certain we can collect some water from here and use this for irrigation. This is quite a surprise as it is the end of summer. We can expect more water after the winter rains. The barocco is dry, but following the path down to Cortelha, there is flowing water at various points, so many more possibilities for irrigation. The figs are doing well, we have some peaches, but the fruit is not ripe yet, the grapes are edible, but also need to ripen.

We managed to make the quinta building quite comfortable, despite getting here quite late in the day. The petrol and lamp oil was stored in shade by the old water tank, so the last job of the day was to bring this down to the quinta building before dusk. The oil lamps are working fine, It may be a while before we have the solar panels working. Everything inside the building seems ok and generally dust and mould free. We need to spend some time tomorrow organising the interior before contemplating the jungle outside the front door.

We have had a very long conversation about the future management of the land, what we have done so far has worked ok, but we need to have more people at the quinta to help manage the land and make it more productive. It can't be left, the vegetation will dominate and take over without something to push the boundary in our direction a little.

19.09.2012

We organised the interior of Cassaca building today, brushing away the dust and cobwebs. It's very comfortable and organised now. The sky was clear all morning, and we put the solar panel out early. The battery seems to be fully charged now, and has held charge much better than I had expected. We went to Coja in the afternoon to buy grease for the strimmer, we aim to strim Cassaca and Cortelha before we leave. Tomorrow is Arganil market, so we are going to get up fairly early, and I want to buy seven trees to plant by the borroco running through Cortelha.

20.09.2012

I woke early and walked around Cortelha, making plans about the fruit trees to buy from the market in Arganil this morning. I heard a call from Cassaca, and looking up, we could see what looked like smoke clouds drifting across in a strong wind. Fabio heard someone in the village discussing whether they should phone the 'bombeiros', and he saw a fire engine along the high road close to the summit of Picotta. Having slept badly I was tired and unsure whether to go to the market, but we decided to go anyway. We took all the valuables, including the money for the purchase of Cortelha, and headed off up the mountain road. At the top we began to smell smoke, and right before the forest road joins the main high round past Picotta summit, we saw several fire engines, and police. By the time we had got there the bombeiros said the fire was well under control. There was a helicopter overhead, and it dropped a load of water on the fire and the surroundings, including us. We took some pictures, inched past the fire trucks and then headed off to the market in Arganil. The moring was clear, fine and hot. There is a separate part of the market outdoors for local traders, and we bought fresh figs, and dried peaches, and some vegetables. We also bought a TMN dongle as the Optimus internet connection does not really work in Cassaca, however the TMN connection has not worked at all so far.

We have had a long talk about what must be our priorities with Eira dos vales, and we have had to scale things back to weed control and fire prevention. We need to concentrate on just these two things at the moment. We have a serious problem with brambles and ferns which have made nearly all of the quinta impassable now, with some ferns over six feet tall, and we need to protect the quinta against fire. We have created a primary zone which includes cassaca building and cortelha building and the path that connects them, which must be kept free of vegetation (the path is now totally impassable). These areas also form part of the primary fire prevention zone. We then need to find out who exactly owns what when the papers for Cortelha have been signed, because we need to clear a fire zone around each of the buildings, both of which have been burnt down in the past. From then on it is strimming, we reckon at least four times a year. We could recruit some animal help, but that is going to be impossible whilst we need to return to earn money to pay for the work here.

We have returned for lunch, and tried some local wine (3 euros for five litres) it is very fruity! I am going to rest, I have had much disturbed sleep and need to catch up.

21.09.2012

Today has been a day of strimming. Strimmng, strimming and strimming. I started on Cortelha, I have done half of the top terrace, all of the flat second terrace, and about half of the third terrace. The last fourth terrace is very big, So I will need to do section by section. I think I have become familiar with the technique now, starting high, weaving down in an S shape, then cutting close to the ground to mush the debris into what can stay on the ground as a mulch. We stopped for lunch in the Portuguese manner, and I worked in the afternoon and evening. There has been intermittent sun and cloud, so the temperature has been fine. The stonework on the bottom terrace of Cortelha is particularly fine, blocks of xixto of fairly equal size, with hardly any gaps. It looks a bit like a fortress from below. Fabio has been to investigate the lost parcel we posted from England. The lady in the post office didn't acceps it as post restante. We have found out it is still in Portugal, and will hopefully be delivered again (soon!). We have found what we think is the extra bit of land that comes with Cortelha, we are hoping it extends up the road, which will be a big blessing as we will be able to cut trees for the fire zone around both properties.

23.09.2012

Fabio strimmed right up to the far wall of the garden terrace in Cassaca, and found six fruit trees including the pomegranite. I spent most of the morning organising things in the house and did the clothes washing. It took a while to fight through the brambles to find the wahing line, but they were dry in a jiffy. We fixed the solar pannel against the south facing wall of Cortelha, a perfect spot as it is not obscured by shadows, with a mixture of large rocks, slivers of slate, sticks and pieces of string. We went for a meal in Coja for saturday evening. On the way we spotted a dead pine tree close to the road, and Fabio mentioned that it looked quite dangerous. When we returned the wind had blown it over and it was right across the road blocking our way. However despite it's size, it was like a dry sponge, light and we were able to shift the large pieces of broken trunk to the side of the road. Overnight it has rained for about two and a half hours, and it was windy. The solar pannel has survived and everything is fresh this morning with rain.

23.09.2010

Today Sr Virgilho came up the path from the village. We spotted him first in the valley below. He was the previous owner of the land. I think he was sad to sell the land. He described the limits of the property, which could be problematic in terms of fire protection, but the extra bit of land is something separate from Cortelha, above an adjoining farmhouse. It is next to the bottom of Cassaca, a 'missing' chunk of land which is good to link with Cassaca and Cortelha. The delineation of the land is quite vague, as has been the experience so far. We are thinking of asking Sergio to clear the undergrowth as this would allow us to access the land, and hopefully get it working for us and at least know what the boundary is. Sr Virgilho thinks the ideas of goats and pigs are good, as long as the pigs don't escape. We walked from the base of Cortelha to Cassaca discussing in detail the revised plans we have made. Sr Virgilho mentioned that a relative had a group of 4 buildings for sale on the other side of the valley, so we went to have a look this evening, but got caught out by mountain rain. They are in a poor state of repair. There is a very healthy looking lemon and diosporo, and the buildings and what remains of the pathways are built right into the rock. It feels like walking around a archeological site. I can not judge the age of any of this. From the wear on the stonework steps, they look at least several hundred years old.

24.09.2012

I thought buying Cortelha was going to be traumatic, it wasn't. Donna Erundinha and the family were very nice. It was very formal, and everyone dressed for the occasion. The judge was a lady, very friendly, embraces at the end. I feel welcomed and as if I have a place in the village. People talk, and they know what is going on.

25.09.2012

We decided to have a party on the terrace of Cortelha yesterday evening, with some sparkling wine and red wine from Arganil market. A fantastic party in the moonlight in front of the mountain. 'Extreme clubbing', as we have also called this venture 'extreme farming'. This morning, a little hung over, we decided to re-plant Luke's peach tree on the end of Cortelha flat terrace. We also found two suckers from the fig tree at the bottom of Cortelha, so planted them down the path to the village. The soil on Cortelha sloping terrace, which Sr Virgilio, and Donna Erundinha told us about, is absolutely fantastic, the best for planting, so we may re-think the plans for planting and the overall design. I have spent the afternoon with the tanques in Cortelha. We found the water from the top tanque was coming from a spring, and dug to divert it down the borrocco, as there is enough water on the flat terrace, and winter is coming so more rain. I decided to try and get the bottom tanque working, as the cachoeira looks so beatiful now it is full of water. I replaced the Xisto slab and used moss to fill the gaps, then put mud around the joints and piled up stones and gravel to stop the slab moving. After just a little experimentation it worked and the tanque began to fill, I will see what it looks like tomorrow full with water and hopefully with all the mud settled to the bottom. There is what looks like an underground irrigation channel running off the barrocco just below this tank, so that needs investigating in the future. In the top tanque I dug out half of the accumulated mud, which was not an easy task with a lot of gravel tangled in with weeds making shoveling laborious. It also rained heavily, so I worked with an umbrella.

Mario came over to dicuss the building work on the bottom half of Cassaca building. We are going to get less done more cheaply, and have just a verandah outdoors. The water tank collecting the rain will be bigger however. I think it will be fine and functional, we can work on it later if needs be ourselves. We have hit on the idea of collecting the water from the top spring by the water tank on Cassaca with a funnel and hosepipe, leading down to the (dry) water cave garden terrace, so we are going to get this tomorrow. It will mean we can have our own spring water close to the house, bliss. No more worries about collecting water from the cachoeira or the village. We can make the water cave watertight as well, and fill this up, with the overflow going down the barrocco to Cortelha. We are also going to choose the log burner for downstairs in Cassaca. It is getting cold with the rain, so we need to sort some wood out for the fire.

26.09.2012

We tried Arganil first today to buy a log burner and hose pipe. The hose pipe we got from the agricultural co-poperative, but in the end we went back to Coja and got a fantastic 'salamander' for 150 euros. I really like it! It is functional and a very good price, and apparently very popular with the Portuguese. We are both getting much into the more simple, efficient and in-expensive way of life in Portugal. When we returned we went to have a look at the property which is for sale next door to Cortelha. The principle reason for buying it would be to sort out the fire zone problems and access to the land which adjoins the house at Cortelha. I am very drawn to the quinta, particularly the house. It is in bad shape, but capable of complete restoration. It is a fine stone building, visible from the village. I visited before about a year ago. We are both feeling that it is very sad to see the enormous effort put in in the past to create this lanscape with intricate irrigation and drainage, terracing and stone buildings built totally from the local resources fade away. This agricultural land is capable of supporting many people, and the economic situation is driving de-population and decay.

27.09.2012

We have decided to light the fire, not because it is particularly cold but to help dry the washing, as we have been caught out by the rain. We set off early for Arganil market this morning, principally to buy some wellies for me as having inadequate footwear is getting annoying. I wanted the blue ones, but apparently they are for women, so settled for the black Dunlops. We aso bought four trees. I had decided just to buy one, but can't resist buying trees, a diosporo, a hazelnut, a pomegranite and a quince. I also called England regarding the missing parcel. Hopefully it will be sorted and delivered soon. On return we decided to try and make some more detailed plans for both quintas. We managed to find all the trees we planted before, including some missing nut trees, and the olives, and used the machete to cut around them, so they don't get strimmed away with the brambles. We are planning goats near the house, to nibble away all the problematic growth in the fire zone, and then to move towards the middle of the quinta. We watched a sheep and goat herd in action in Arganil yesterday by the Sao Pedro church, and were very impresed with their ability to eat everything in sight, including the brambles. On the far side of the quinta we want to have some pigs, who can roam fairly freely and hopefully root out all the problematic plants. Fabio has promised a pig for the party in the village (it will have to be the year after next) so we can't not do it now. I am excited about getting the fencing up, the aim is to manage the land without strimming, and provide a decent life for the animals reared ultimately for meat. The pigs will hopefully in time move upwards, and help clear some of the huge area above Cassaca we have not even explored yet.

This evening I went again to the house ajoining Cortelha, which is for sale by the same family. The buildings are very delapidated, with stone roofs, but the walls are solid and the area of the buildings is much greater than the two we own so far. There are very many chestnut trees which form a very attractive dense canopy. It would be a major restoration project but possibly inexpensive as we have many resources here in Cassaca. There are very many chestnut trees above Cassaca that would be suitable to replace the beams.

28.09.2012

We are completely in the clouds today, and it has rained intermittently all day, with mist rising and falling throughout the day. I collected and sawed wood this morning, downstairs in Cortelha, whilst Fabio cleaned the upstais floor, ready to move the things from Cassaca whilst the building work takes place. We have given up trying to collect water from the spring at the top of Cassaca, using the hose pipes we bought, because the spring has dried up. The water from the springs is capricious and unreliable. We went to Coja in the afternoon, to take out some money, and buy some hardware. We bought 200m of wire fencing, enough for Cortelha, or we may use it on Cassaca. Sr Luis in the hardware store said that all the buildings and terraces were made around 1850. The area was isolated with no road, and hence people were very self sufficient. They also were rich, firstly from an industry making chestnut spoons which were famous throughout Portugal, and secondly because of the abundance of water (at the time). I gues this explains all the intricate terracing and stonework. The 'houses' like Cassaca and Cortelha are not houses at all. People lived in the villages, and they used the houses mostly for work on the spoons, hence the windows and lamp recesses found in all the buildings. Downstairs was for the animals. We are then the first people to live in this part of the valley.

29.09.2012

Upearly this am as we went to Coja to pick up the rest of the fencing fencing. We couldn't collect it yesterday as the road was blocked with a delivery. We had breakfast and bought some cakes. We met Donna Hilda in the town, she had just been to the doctor. On return it has been a hard slog clearing out the two bottom rooms for the building work to start. We have put everything in Cortelha, and we spent the last working hour measuring out the fire zone around both properties: 10 meters with no trees, 30 metres with no undergrowth and the 2-3 metres around each property with no vegetation at all. We are going to have a well earned rest this evening.

30.12.2012

We have decided to have a day of rest today. The sun is spectacular, and a fabulous last day to spent in Enxudro, before returinig to England. I have watered the figs, and put in posts for the planting of the other trees down the path to the village in Cortelha. Three hikers came along this morning.

01.10.2012

We woke early to travel to Lisbon, but heard on the radio that there was widespread disruption to train services because of a strike. So instead of driving to Coimbra and taking the comboio to Lisboa, we drove instead. The journey was very straightforward, taking the A1 motorway turnoff on our usual route to Coimbra, and took about 3 hours in total from Enxudro. The city was a shock after Enxudro. We parked at the airport first and got our bearings, then took the metro to Praca Marques de Pombal. We had lunch in a restaurant with a little wine for 18 Euros for the two of us, then walked down the Avenida da Liberdade to Rossio, Baixa, Chiado and the Rio Tejo. I think the wine helped relax us a little, but we both loved being in Lisboa, warmer than all of the summer days in England, intense light, lush trees and parks, beautiful exuberant buildings, nice food, clean, relaxed.

We got to the airport three hours before my flight, and Fabio left early to drive back to Enxudro. The wait was long, but eventually we took off after sunset. The flight itself seemed quite short, and once we got above England it was easy to work out which cities all the lights below belonged to, from Southampton and Portsmouth, Brighton, Worthing, Crawley and vast London. Descending I lost my bearings, and we landed without problem with relief. Gatwick seemed like a city in itself compared with being in Portugal. It reminded me of being at Thorpe Park or Alton Towers, queueing, lots of turns and bends and bridges and long, long empty corridors.

And here I am now in England, missing Enxudro.

March and April 2013

18/03/2013 Pont Aven off the north coast of Spain The ferry trip has been Ok. We have had lots of rest, and feel we could do a long drive from here to Enxudro in the future if needs be. I had not expected the boat to be so French. The check-in arrangements were comfortable, the cabin is quite small, and we hadn't expected the second bunk bed to be in the ceiling. The crossing has been choppy, so despite preparing some food to take, I haven't really felt like eating. Moving around is a bit problematic, but lying down is quite comfortable and 'womb-like'. Very soon we will be in Iberia once again.

18/03/2013 On the train to Valladolid The transit to the train station in Santander was easy, quite warm in the sun, but a cold wind. We sat in a cafe in the station waiting for the train to Valladolid and Coimbra. The food was uninspiring, but the station very calm, like a church. We have passed through lush pasture and snow covered mountains to treeless plains in northern Spain. It is now dark, and we should arrive soon to make our last connection with the overnight train to Coimbra.

19/03/2013 Well, the police decided to do a passport check on all the train passengers from Santander. I found it a bit bizarre explaining that I am not looking for a job in Spain thank you very much. Portugal is much more relaxed. We have had deep moments of doubt about all of this arriving exhausted by taxi from Coimbra. The main building in Cassaca was a building site, there has been SO much rain, the whole of the quinta is alive with streams and rivulets. The mina, every tank in sight and the barroco is overflowing with water, more than in 20 years. The work that Mario has done is fantastic, but we realise the list is as long as your arm, and as long again. Things now are very much more homely, now we have got things organised, swept, and somewhere to sleep. One sunny morning in spring, and we will be totally in love again, but now we are not in love, we are busy, very busy, and I am not sure how much more business I have in my bones!

20/03/2012

Sr Mario called yesterday evening to discuss the work, there are still quite a few bits and bobs to do. The major problem is that all the rain has caused both penetrating damp from the wind and water infiltration from the xisto itself. Some of the woodwork has warped including the floor, the new doors downstairs also stick and will not shut. There is now a deep channel in the floor of the 'dispensa' and also in the upstairs main room, which solves the problem of the water penetration from the xisto nicely, by diverting any water that runs in. The penetrating damp is more of a problem on the south wall. We may need a membrane of some sort as an interim measure, as we planned to build a greenhouse on this wall, which would ultimately solve the problem in the future. Once the damp has dried in the summer we can replace the floorboard that has been taken up by Mario to create an expansion gap. We need to get a concrete top put on the tank in the autumn when the tank has settled, and a membrane in the interim for the top to stop algae growing. Sr Sergio called round too, but the car we are going to buy from him needs documentation which might not be ready for about a week. Today we have had a beautiful sunny day, and realised how great the place is after all. We have again been very busy organising the house. I have connected the solar panels in a more permanent position, which means we can have the inverter and battery in the kitchen, and run the computer and lights much more efficiently. The 'salamander' is not yet connected to a chimney in the kitchen because of the rain, so we have bought a portable gas heater, as the kitchen is unusable at the moment without some warmth. The gas heater will be useful in the future as well, as in high winds sometimes smoke gets blown into the house, so we need an alternative, and an easier option for flexibility. I have walked around all of the terraces today. All the ponds and pools and flow of water give us many more possibilities. We found out Sr Mario had dug some channels to divert escaping water on the quinta, and chopped a tree down which was in danger of causing the barroco to burst through and flood the lower part of Cassaca. The new kitchen is much more organised now, as are the upper rooms. I have done some sunbathing over lunch. I have retied some of the olives to their supports. There are many newts, or salamnders in the tanque in Cortelha. Sergio has come to discuss the car with Fabio, and I am in the kitchen, enjoying the new freedom of electricity and quite bright LED light strips in the kitchen, and a heater to keep warm in the evening. 21/03/2013

Fabio has spent a long day in Arganil organising the transfer of the car with Sr Sergio, and buying a chainsaw to help with clearing the trees from the fire zone. I spent nearly the whole day cleaning and re-arranging the new kitchen, as the damp had made much of the contents mouldy. I collected some pine trees and assembled enough wood to finally make a sturdy and wind proof frame for the solar panels, however the hammer broke and we hadn't got enough nails to finish. The new car is fine, it's very basic, and needs a cigarette lighter to re-charge the computer. The evening was the first opportunity there has been to relax and have a little wine and aguardente and discuss the next steps.

22/03/2013

Sr Mario needs a generator to do the work in Cassaca, and we had planned having a generator as a back-up, and to allow us to use some power tools to help renovate Cortelha. So Fabio has been to Arganil today to buy one, and also to get the hammer and nails needed for the frame for the solar pannels. I spent nearly all of the day finishing off the 12v lighting in Cortelha, so finally we have lighting in every room. We have an independent and sustainable solution for the lighting and space heating (12v solar electrics and the log burner) and back-ups if these fail for any reason (a portable gas heater and paraffin lamps). We reached the conclusion that we would need to rely on this kind of mixture of different technologies, rather than on one single solution to a particular problem as a general principle here in the mountains. It also allows things to adapt more easily to the weather and environment as the seasons change.

23/03/2013

We bought a portable camping toilet last autumn, but had been using Cortelha and the composting toilet we built a while back down there up till now. However the trek down in the rain has become a bit tiresome. We found a place under the verandah to lay two pallets and erect a toilet tent, with frame firmly lashed at every possible point. There is a plastic tarpaulin to form a wipe-able floor. It should be more convenient. We plan to compost the waste in the same place as before. The toilet is quite low, so could do with a box of some sort underneath.I decided that it would be better to remove the bark from the pine for the solar panel frame, so spent a good while chipping away with a machete. It took a while, but I have found the technique now. We have built the majority of the frame, but rain interrupted the final part of the process. The frame is hopefully heavy enough to prevent the panel being lifted up by the wind, but portable enough so two people can lift it and move it. It has been raised up on stones to try and prevent the wood becoming damp. We plan to treat the wood and lash the frame to the panel with rope.

24/03/2013

However many times and different variations in technique and pulling style, the chainsaw will not start. We have been through the manual in detail, and checked the spark plug, so the chainsaw remains under the kitchen table in disgrace. Today was hard collecting and cutting wood by hand. There is a small amount of wood in Cortelha, but we need to cut more wood to dry, whilst this last dry wood is being used, otherwise we will not have any wood to light the fire. Without the chainsaw, we have managed to cut up enough wood to fill all the log baskets, so this evening will be a good opportunity to light the log burner and try and dry out the house a little.We managed to work out how to start the generator, and re-charged the computer and added a transformer to run the 12v lights whilst the battery is re-charging. The generator starts quite easily, however it is really quite noisy. We had a little wine in the evening listening to music, and used a lot of the computer battery so back to square one! 25/03/2013

Sr Mario arrived quite early this morning, to fix the kitchen sink, and adjust the doors to the kitchen and dispensa which would not shut properly as the wood has expanded with the rain. I spent the morning in Cortelha removing a big pile of pine straw from the top of Cortelha, which I burnt, sweeping and tidying the top floor of the building. I hadn't realised Sr Mario had fixed the roof of Cortelha last Autumn, replacing some cracked tiles. The whole of the top floor is watertight and in pretty good shape. The floor is sturdy and undamaged, and there are loads of extra floorboards from Cassaca. Plenty of wood to lay a really nice floor. Spending some time in the building has allowed me to see more clearly how it could be used, as the lower floor is very much like the dispensa, and there is water coming directly from the rock. It might be possible to alleviate this for the most part in the future, but that would involve digging out around the back of the building. The top floor of Cortelha therefore would be ideal to convert into accommodation, the ground floor needs a drainage channel around the floor edge, and could be ideal for use in the summer. The animal shed has a similar problem with water penetration, but it may well be easier to dig around the back of this building first, as we need to do some work on the path from Cortelha to Cassaca.With doors that shut, and a kitchen sink that drains, the whole of Cassaca is much more comfortable now. We re-charged the computer and battery from the generator this evening, and watched a DVD with the fire lit.

26/03/2013

There has been very heavy rain all day. The dispensa floor has leaked water, and there is even a very small amount in the kitchen. There was little prospect of drying the washing, even though I have rigged up a washing line in the verandah. Fabio went to get bricks to make shelves in the dispensa, and to try and order some dry wood. I am beginning to panic a little as there is very little dry wood left, there is a week of rain forecast, and it is cold and wet in the house. I managed to get the chainsaw working, and chopped one medium sized pine tree. Very interesting to see the whole tree up close, and prepare the wood with a chainsaw, machete, hand saw and axe as a whole process. I have tried to use the last wood to make a fire and dry some of the washing, and dry out some of the wood. There is no prospect of ordering any dry wood as everyone is in the same boat, and there isn't any dry wood in the area. We have got a spare gas bottle for the heater. Tomorrow someone should fit a cigarette lighter in the car to charge the computer.

27/03/2013

I think we have finally sorted out the house. I spent the morning cutting a small drainage channel by the bottom step in the dispensa, and hopefully eliminating any further problems with water in that room. It has been re-organised, with a small bench for tools, supported by bricks and the original floorboards. There is room for tools we use on the quinta and the chainsaw, and a shelf full of preserves from Brasil. I have finished off the solar panel frame, and lashed the panel with orange rope from England. It really looks quite good now, and is very sturdy and should withstand even the wind up here. No chance yet to see it in action as there is no sun, but we have a sunny day forecast for a few days soon. There is a new waterfall under the tank, no idea how it happened, but it looks as if it was meant to be there. There is some sort of channel underground where you can hear the water rushing, but all quite overgrown so it is difficult to work out where the water goes. I don't think anyone knows where all the water channels are in these quintas. Just the trees in the fire zone to sort out now, we will start with the small ones, the big ones may have to stay on the ground for now. The small ones are a risk to the house as they could easily blow on the roof in a strong wind. If we can work between the heaviest showers then I am sure we can get the work done. I have the specifications for the wild boar fencing, so we will cut the wood with that in mind. We now have a cigarette lighter for the car to charge the computer and a new mirror.

28/03/2013

Today we have been able to relax a little more. I have spent all day finding the trees I can throw down to the road, and removing all the branches to leave just the trunk. We are saving the branches to go in Cortelha to dry for the fire next winter. The pine needles can stay in piles to make a pine straw mulch for the garden by the road. I enjoy chopping wood, and we have managed to get quite a few fence posts and other wood for construction. We have been to look at the top of Cassaca where we have found another terrace today under the brambles and undergrowth, and also in the mina to have a look where the water comes from. There is another water source next to the mina on the new terrace, but it is impossible to find out more as it is so overgrown, and I am not sure what holes might lurk beneath the brambles and dead ferns. There is quite a bit of xisto in the mina for construction, however I would not like to go in without a hard hat. We are getting a much better idea how we want to develop Cassaca and Cortelha, as we need an overall plan, in which each of the stages fits. We have decided to finish the bathroom and verandah in Casaca mostly ourselves, however we are desperate for a shower. We may build a temporary bathroom with a makeshift shower round the back of the house for now, and it can stay there with the compost toilet in for the future. It will give us a chance to try out some construction techniques before we attempt the verandah. Two more people came up from the village for a look at the work this evening, and Fabio said they were complementary about what we have done.

30/03/2013

Yesterday it rained hard all day. We spent some time digging water channels in Cortelha around the tank to stop them overflowing and flooding. We also noticed that the water tank by the house was dangerously full, so we dug out the overflow pipe to make sure it wasn't blocked and turned on the outside tap. There are steps right at the top of Cortelha we have discovered on the new terrace, and I tried to find where they go, but everything is very overgrown. There is what we think is a second mina, and I cut some brambles and ferns to expose another channel of water in the rock. The afternoon was spent chopping and clearing trees. We managed to get the chainsaw working, and we now have six baskets of wood we have dried. We have realised that we probably are only going to have time to clear away the small and loose trees, which could blow away in the wind and damage the house. The large trunks might have to stay where they are for now.

This morning I got up early to wash the clothes, and prepare the food for the day. We haven't got a fridge, but have managed quite well so far, keeping food covered and bringing it to boil the next day before eating (for example potatoes and beans). I have discovered the corn bread here in Portugal really upsets my digestion, and I am feeling a lot better not eating it! Mid morning the sun came out, and after an exhausting day yesterday, we have spent a much more relaxing morning on the terraces taking photos and discussing plans. We dug out one of the water channels from the mina to stop it overflowing onto the terraces, we also did the same in the tanque in Cortelha which was dangerously close to overflowing. We have discovered a new water channel on Cassaca terraces, which was covered by soil that has washed down in the rain. We saw a lizard in the sun, and took some photos. The whole valley is beautiful, with luxuriant green grass, the sound of waterfalls and sunshine.

Easter Day

The main paraffin lamp in the kitchen broke in two parts when I picked it up this morning, the other lamp in the kitchen needs constant attention to stop it burning too brightly or going out, and the camping toilet overflowed. I think we need to get an ordinary 12v car battery to work with the generator, and keep the marine battery for use with the solar panel, which does seem to work ok, even when the sun shines occasionally. I have found a different way to monitor the voltage in the marine battery, and I had very much over-estimated how much charge there actually was in the battery. With all this water, we are going to find out more about mini-hydro, which I have some information about in England. I tried to estimate the flow of water by Cassaca yesterday. An 18 litre bucket was full in less than a second. If I had put the bucket fully in the stream of water I would have lost it, so plenty of energy there.

We drove up the forest road to Picotta yesterday evening, and tried out the cigarette lighter in the car to charge the computer, which worked intermittently. I had hoped to take a picture of the snow on the Serra da Estrella, but the peak was engulfed in cloud. We drove down the first forest road crossing Cassaca, and found the source of water and where it enters the channels cut in the rock by the original constructors of the quinta. The water has caused erosion by the road, and there is a new spring above the original spring. We were almost able to make a path down to the new terrace on Cassaca. Sr Sergio came over in the evening to see if we were alright. The evening was calm, so a perfect time to make some sound recordings of the different waterfalls in Eira dos Vales.

This morning rain again. I have a plan for the trees which will hopefully allow us time to get enough work done to make the area safe before we leave.

05/04/2013

Sunday and Monday this week have been spent clearing the trees from the fire zone. We have realised that we are not going to have time to clear them all. We need to make the area as safe as possible, particularly against fire and the possibility of the wind blowing a tree onto the house and damaging the roof. We decided to work on the first 10m from the house, and then move outwards. We have been able to clear all but the biggest trunks close to the house, and all the timber we can use in construction has been propped up against the terrace walls of Cassaca. The twigs and pine leaves have been left to protect the soil from erosion. It has been grim and heavy work in the rain. On Tuesday morning I decided to have a break from the trees. Armed with a 'belotta' (small hand-saw) and a machete, I went to the new top terrace of Cassaca. All the rain had caused a new waterfall in the 'new mina'. We have realised, however, that this is not a mina at all, but a cleft worn in the rocks over time, before the terraces and new water channel were built. There are stone walls to uncover under the brambles, and the 'new mina' forms a perfect hollow for a natural swimming pool, with a supply of water, and overflow into the barroco. After trying a few different routes, I decided to go by the stone steps we discovered, and found a small flat track, now overgrown with pine trees, with a wall cut into the rock. This led to Donna Hilda's chestnut tree, the new spring and the eroded channel in the first forest road. Although very overgrown, this spot is magical, with a small stone bridge over the water. The original spring and channel was choked with mud and brambles and roots. The forest road was in a bad way. The rain had caused new springs to emerge above the road, where water was pooling in the road and overflowing, causing more erosion. I decided to do what I could with wellies and the belotta. I made shallow channels in the road to partially divert the water away from the erosion. I cleared the original spring and channel, and made a new channel to divert the water from the new spring and the road, all into the original channel cut into the rock. I developed the 'wellie technique' which worked quite well, with the water itself eroding a new channel led by human feet. The small waterfall was now diverted, which created a new problem, as the flow of water in the barocco was now much greater. I followed the water channel down both quintas, and uncblocked the channel where Mario had cut down a tree to ensure that it did not overflow onto the bottom terraces of Cassaca. We both returned later with spades and shovels to the first forest road, to dig better channels.

The early part of wednesday morning was spent washing clothes, cooking and organising the house. Later we drove to Arganil as there were things to organise and buy. We bought a 12v battery which fits the car, but will serve primarily as a back up and be capable of a proper charge by the generator. The solar panels have worked well to re-charge the marine battery, even in the rain, and the lights are now bright. We have got into the routine of using the generator every few days for a hour or so, to re-charge the computer primarily, and other batteries. Sr Sergio came over in the evening, he will come this week to help clear some of the larger trees in the fire zone. Thursday is market day in Arganil, and we woke early to set out. We had asked Sergio what he thought the best trees were to stabilise the erosion, and he suggested bay trees, so we bought some in the market, together with some vegetables to try and plant out and a few more fruit trees. On returning we checked the first forest road, and the work seems to have helped, the springs above the road have dried up and the water is flowing faster below the road. Later in the afternoon, I marked out the line of the wild boar fence in Cortelha, set back from the path to the village a little to make it seem a bit less oppressive. Between the fence and the path we have planted a number of fruit and nut trees, and we continued the planting with three cherry trees, each with different coloured fruit. I reasoned the best place to plant vegetables in Cortelha was going to be the terrace just below the pond I created last autumn, in terms of water and soil type. We dug out the irrigation channel which is fed by the pond, and I planted some onions. Completely soaked by the rain I returned late. Sr Sergio has cleared some trees, he will return on Saturday.

Friday 05/04/2013

Intermittent rain and cloud again. We spent some time cooking and organising the house today, and after lunch set to work again on the trees and chopping firewood. We rescued some long straight timber for construction, as Sr Sergio seems much more keen on chopping it all for firewood.

Saturday 06/04/2013

Today has been a perfect day of clear deep blue sky. There was a sharp frost in the morning, but warm enough to work in the afternoon without a shirt. We set out early to Coja to buy a wheelbarrow and some groceries, as we realised we were not going to be able to move all the logs without one. We have noticed this year there is quite a contrast between the top of the mountain, and the valley below in Coja and Arganil, where the plants are much more ahead into Spring. We are going to need to think about greenhouses and protection from the wind to allow us to grow food successfully. I spent the rest of the day in Cortelha, strimming an area of grass, and then digging small areas to plant cabbages, pumpkins, black eye beans and potatoes. There is no time to dig large areas, and I am not sure how wise that is in terms of erosion on the slope and soil fertility, so we have settled on trying to grow some vegetables amongst the grass in small areas. Hopefully the wild boar will not notice them. The cabbages should grow, because they grow semi-wild in the grass anyway.

Sr Sergio had to leave the rest of the wood this morning as a piece of wood went into his eye whilst using the chainsaw. We must make sure we get proper goggles to use. Fabio has organised and stacked the majority of the logs. We drove up the forest road in the evening and walked to the top of Picotta, had coffee and biscuits and took a pictures including the snow capped Serrra da Estrella.

Mon 08/04/13

We started the week organising the trees starting from the bottom of Cortelha ensuring they have all got some posts to try and stabilise them in the wind. We have probably planted all the trees that will fit by the path to the village, we need to plant soft fruits beneath as the next stage in the future. We have uncovered the path between Cassaca and Cortelha, which we have found is really wide with some fine large stone steps. We think there is a path with steps going right up to the top spring, and we want to try and uncover it in the future. Fabio has finished organising the wood in the driveway, all chopped sorted and stacked in piles.

Tue 09/04/13 We drove up to the first forest road as the rain eased a little in the morning and planted the bay trees and two marmelos (quince trees) to help control the erosion. We also had a look round all the trees on Cassaca and made sure they had stakes to help stabilise them in the wind. It has been good to have a rest and catch up with household jobs, and cook a nice lunch. Fabio went to Coja this afternoon to get a gas re-fill for cooking. We have used more gas that we ultimately would hope to be using, keeping the kitchen warm as the salamander (small log burner) is not yet connected. Mario needs a dry spell to get up on the roof.

Wed 10/04/2013

We decided we needed a day out, and we went to Tabua, to get to know the locality a little, and because Fabio will need to come in the future to organise documentation for the car. There has been intermittent rain all day. We didn’t find it to be a very attractive town, however there are some nice baroque churches to visit. Before we arrived in Tabua, we had a coffee and cake in Coja, and we saw Sr Mario who joined us for a coffee to discuss future work. We have decided to point the South facing wall as the building is not functioning at present and this should prevent water penetration. For now we will leave the rest of the building without pointing outside and see how things go. Mario is going to finish the other outstanding work over the summer, and put a tarpaulin over the top of the water tank. We have decided we probably don’t need a concrete top for the tank, but rather a roof to keep out the light and mosquitoes, from which we can collect further rain to fill the tank.

Thu 11/04/2013

Sr Mario came over to sort out the final details of the work on the quinta this morning. Sr Sergio came over in the afternoon, with some better weather to finish of cutting the wood on the slope.

Fri 12/04/2013

I woke early, and got the urge to explored the land next to Cortelha which goes right up to the end of the valley. It is a fabulous quinta, with two tanques, there is an an orchard with two nespereiras which need rescuing, and also a diosporo. There is a stone bridge, and very pretty barn surrounded by a waterfall that runs all year long, as it feeds Tapadinha, the main waterfall in the valley. I went back later with Fabio and some clippers, as it is all very overgrown for a second look. We spent the afternoon completing the last bits of tidying up before we travel back to England. The camping toilet has been retired in disgrace. It has proven much easier and more convenient to empty the earth closet we made originally. The camping toilet is very difficult to empty onto the copost pile, and also uses a lot of water trying to clean it. The compost toilet has been re-sited in Cortelha. We are too tired to do any more with the logs Sr Sergio has cut, so we will sort them out on our next visit.We took a walk in the evening up the path Sr Sergio cuts each summer past the water tank which supplies the village and up an adjoining valley into the wild mountain. This allows access for the bombeiros in case of fire. This part of the valley is very different, much drier, with different vegetation. We saw some tracks, possibly from wild boar. There were signs of an animal, possibly deer, chewing bark and spitting it out. This part of the valley has very good views of the quinta, but is a bit too steep to climb in wellies. I have hurt my ankle being on the slopes in Cassaca trying to sort out the wood in the fire zone. I am not sure how Sr Sergio manages to strim the vegetation in these steep parts of the valley.

Sat 13/04/2013

The last morning at the quinta, with fabulous sunshine, and the start of summer! The last few jobs in the quinta have been done in a very leisurely way. We took a taxi driven by Sr Luis to Moita da Serra, and from there a comfortable bus ride to Coimbra. We found the same restaurant we had previously visited for a pizza. Moita da Serra may be a good place to catch the coach to Paris in the future, which means we would not need to travel to Coimbra.

Sun 14/04/2013

There is something a bit bonkers about the sud-express overnight train from Coimbra, and there were unfortunately some people disturbing other passengers overnight again. We were very tired on arrival to Valladolid, but rustled up enough energy to have a little walk around. It’s quite a big city, immaculate in the morning mist, with wide avenues of clipped trees. We took the train to Santander, through lush pasture, past waterfalls, caves, snow capped mountains and ancient towns built around castles. Santander was very hot and sunny, and the hotel was very comfortable, pleasant and welcoming.

Mon 15/04/2013

We visited the municipal market in Santander on a beautiful sunny morning to stock up before travelling, and had some beers for lunch in the cervejaria. There are beautiful views of the beaches and bay and mountains around Santander from the boat. The overnight journey was a bit a bit choppy, but much more relaxed this time. Tue 16/04/2013

Back to Portsmouth and the familiar energy of the UK. Although this trip to Portugal has been very busy, for the first time we have made a proper home that functions in all weathers. We feel much more confident that we can survive a winter up there now. Hopefully spending much more time in Enxudro is just a few more months away now.